


Operation Pitfall

by nanuk_dain



Series: Drift Compatible [27]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Angst, Dark, Kaiju fighting, M/M, Operation Pitfall, Team Hot Dads, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-30
Updated: 2015-01-30
Packaged: 2018-03-09 18:00:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3259133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanuk_dain/pseuds/nanuk_dain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's the single most nerve-wrecking mission of his entire career with the PPDC. It's only the deeply ingrained discipline that keeps Tendo from biting his fingernails while he watches Striker Eureka and Gipsy Danger attack the Breach.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Operation Pitfall

**Author's Note:**

> Parts of the dialogue are taken from the movie, sometimes twisted and bent to fit my version of the attack - which is a bit different, since I work with the original timeline and therefore the premise that Newt and Herman found out about the genetic code of the Breach several days before Operation Pitfall. 
> 
> Btw, I'm really sorry for the delays in posting, but I'm living and working in the icy Arctic at the moment, and I barely have any time to write (not to mention very very spotty internet access). But this series isn't finished, please don't give up on me just yet ^_^ Oh, and you'd make my day all bright and shiny with a wee comment!

_Hong Kong Shatterdome, January 12th 2025_

 

"Striker, your neural handshake is at one hundred per cent, nice and strong." 

Tendo watches the readings on the screens again and marvels at the sync of both of his pilot pairs. He always found that there is a beauty to the readings of a perfect match, their neural handshake flawless and strong in a way a normally linked pilot pairs can never achieve. Having two perfect matches at the same time is kind of mind-blowing, and he would be even more awed if he didn't know what lies ahead of them. If he didn't know that most likely none of the pilots will come back from this mission.

Right after the decision had been made about who would pilot the Jaegers for Operation Pitfall, the Marshal had pulled Tendo aside and had told him that he'd be in charge as soon as the mission started. With both Pentecost and Herc out in the field, Tendo is the next in line. He's the highest ranking officer, and has been with the PPDC almost since the beginning. Tendo doesn't want to be responsible for the entirety of the PPDC, especially not in light of the decisions he will be facing, no matter how the mission goes. He still does it, though, because it's his duty and Pentecost trusts him to do right by the people he's in charge of. 

Tendo in turn has recruited Mako to help him, because he knows he will need somebody with the skills to deal with the press, with politicians and governments. It's not his forte, but he's absolutely certain that Mako can do it. She's Pentecost's daughter, after all, and they're more alike then they think. She is polite and has a good feeling for people, and she has steel in her back. It's a very handy combination.

Tendo shakes himself out of his musings and focusses on the mission. "Striker, Jumphawks are ready for extraction."

He watches the procedure for a moment or two and waits for Gipsy Danger's Jumphawk crew to tell him that they're in position. 

"LOOCENT, ready for extraction." It's Greg, the leader of Gipsy's Strike Group, and his voice sounds tinny over the comms. The noise of the rotor blades is strong in the background.

"Copy that." Tendo rolls his swivel chair to the next console. "Gipsy, Jumphawks are ready for extraction."

"LOCCENT, we're good to go." Chuck answers immediately, and Tendo smirks. Raleigh was never one for official communication.

"Jump two, you're cleared." Tendo tells Greg and follows the progress of the Jaeger launch on his screens. It goes off without a hitch - not really surprising, considering how often they've done it - and then the journey to the Breach begins.

Operation Pitfall. How appropriate a name for the attack on the Breach, which has indeed proven to be a link to hell. Tendo wonders what it would be like to live without the constant fear of another Kaiju attack, and finds that he can't remember what it _was_ like. The Kaiju War has taken up such a huge part of his life, made him who he is now, and he finds it difficult to imagine a life without it. Still, it's what he and everybody else in the PPDC is fighting for, and now that they're so close to it, he feels an almost palpable tension fill the entire Shatterdome. Because everybody knows it can turn either way now - defeat the Kaiju and close the Breach, or fail, lose their last two Jaegers and remain completely defenceless against the next Kaiju attack.

The flight to the Breach takes a little over six hours, and the tension in LOCCENT rises the closer they get. Half an hour before the scheduled drop Newton and Gottlieb find their way into LOCCENT and linger in the background, for once not bickering. Mako arrives a few minutes after them with Max following her. She comes to stand at ease behind Tendo and watches the readings attentively while Max presses against her legs. Her posture is seemingly relaxed, but Tendo sees how the hand in the sling is opening and closing now and then. It's an underrated but sure sign that she's very tense. Of course she is, she knows as well as everybody else how crucial the next hour is. 

"Striker, Gipsy, you're nearing drop position. ETA three minutes." Tendo announces when they're almost there. "Get ready to disconnect transport on my mark."

"Copy that, LOCCENT." Herc replies and Chuck confirms immediately afterwards. Tendo feels the tension rise with every moment that passes. 

Tendo watches the screens and waits for the strike groups to arrive at the coordinates for the drop. "Striker, Gipsy, disconnect transport." 

"LOCCENT. Disengaging transport now."

Tendo watches through the belly cameras of the Jumphawks how Striker and Gipsy fall and then land in the water right at the edge of the Marianas Trench, and he knows that this is it. The final attack on the Breach has begun. There's no turning back now, it's their last attempt with everything they've got. They have to succeed, because the consequences of failing would be catastrophic. 

"LOCCENT, all ports sealed. Ready so submerge." Herc's voice is calm and professional. Chuck repeats his words, then both Jaegers begin to disappear underneath the ocean's surface. Soon the cameras of the lingering Jumphawks can't pick them up anymore, and Tendo turns to the display showing the entire area surrounding the Breach. The Jaegers are well inside the planned landing zone, and their descent to the ocean floor almost seven thousand metres beneath them has begun. It'll take about fifteen minutes according to their estimations. 

Tendo checks the readouts for the neural handshake, and both pilot pairs are still at one hundred per cent, their drift even and strong and impressively in sync. The readings of the Jaegers are good, too. Under normal circumstances the sealed ports would cause problems of overheating, especially for Gipsy with her nuclear reactor, but the low deep sea temperatures are going to ease the strain, even if it's not enough to even the odds. It's not like anybody expects Gipsy to come back from this mission, so it's a calculated risk.

Also, they have bigger issues. The two Kaiju are still circling the Breach, and Tendo worries about the speed and agility they've shown so far. They are in their element, while the Jaegers are definitely not. "Two actives still in circle formation in Guam quadrant. Codenames Scunner and Raiju. Both category IV." 

"Roger that. When we come up to the ocean cliff, we jump. It's three thousand metres to the Breach." It's Pentecost. Tendo knows he's just speaking for the benefit of LOCCENT and Gipsy. Herc and Pentecost don't need words to communicate while in the drift. Heck, even when they're not drifting they rarely need words. 

"I can't even see a damn centimetre ahead." Chuck growls back over the comms. "Visibility zero. Switching to instruments now." 

The dots that represent Striker and Gipsy keep moving, slowly but steadily. The readouts of the Jaegers and the pilots tell Tendo that walking is difficult and that the silt is making every step an effort. 

Then one of the Kaiju starts moving, circling the Jaegers. "Gipsy, there's movement on your right! Three o'clock! Three o'clock!" Tendo reports its path to the Jaegers immediately, but even the time it takes him to speak is enough for the Kaiju to move away from the position he mentioned. Shit, it's really, really fast. 

There's a moment of silence, then Chuck replies. "Right flank's clear. I got nothing."

"Left now!" Tendo shouts, following the impressively quick movements on the display. "And moving fast! Fastest Kaiju on record!" 

"I don't see anything! It's moving too fast!" Chuck's voice is tense, it's obvious that he doesn't like playing a blind mouse chased by a supercharged cat. The pilot surveillance readings show his inner tension in spikes of his adrenaline level.

"Just keep going, Gipsy. Six hundred metres from the drop." Herc sounds calm and sure, although his readings tell Tendo that he's just as tense. All the pilots are, in fact. It's not really surprising. 

The green dots that represent Striker and Gipsy keep moving steadily towards the edge of the trench, and the Kaiju keep circling them. Tendo doesn't like it one bit. The Kaiju should have attacked by now, there were enough openings for them to do so. Something is wrong. 

Striker jumps first, with Gipsy following closely behind. The landing after the three hundred metre fall is eased by the silt, and both Jaegers sink in deeply. Then the green dots on Tendo's holoscreen are moving again and Herc's voice comes over the comms. "Four hundred metres and closing."

Tendo still feels uneasy. As if to confirm his suspicions, the red dots symbolising the two Kaiju suddenly remain stationary when before, they'd been circling the Jaegers incessantly. 

"Bogeys are stopping!" Tendo zooms in to get more readings and frowns. There's no obvious reason why they would hold back.

"Striker, bogeys are stopping. One o'clock." Mako relates the news to the Jaegers while Tendo takes a moment to analyse the data pouring in from various sources. Nothing gives any indication as to why the Kaiju stopped, or why they haven't attacked so far. It's a very unusual behaviour for them.

Striker comes to a halt, and this time it's Pentecost speaking. "LOCCENT, any idea why they're stopping?"

"No, sir." Tendo shakes his head, never mind that the pilots can't see it. "It doesn't make any -"

"They know that we know!" Tendo hears Newton's excited voice shout right behind him and when he turns around, he finds that both scientists have somehow drifted from the back of LOCCENT to his consoles in the very front. "It's a hive mind, sir, and the drift goes both ways. They know that we know about the genetic code that's necessary to enter the Breach, so they avoid coming close to you because that would be like handing you the key to their world." 

"We have to hunt us a Kaiju, then. Really, the one time we need them, those bastards aren't coming to us." Herc chuckles drily. "Never thought I'd complain about that."

"Well, seems like we need to go to them." Raleigh joins the conversation. "We just have to get close enough. And I hate to say it, but they're a lot faster down here then we are."

A warning blinks on Tendo's holoscreen and a third red dot suddenly pops up, right over the Breach.

"I have a third signature emerging from the Breach!" Tendo reaches for its symbol on the holoscreen and opens all the information that isn't shown in the original notification. As soon as he skims the data, his blood runs cold. Oh shit.

"It's a triple event." Newton says, sounding flat, even before Tendo can report his findings to the pilots.

"God, I was right." Gottlieb seems to be shocked and stunned, but certainly not triumphant.

"How big is it?" Pentecost asks. "What category?"

Tendo swallows hard and looks at Mako. She has seen the readings of the sensors as well, she knows even before he reports it. "It's a category five."

"Striker." Mako says into the mic, her voice betraying nothing of the anxiety that Tendo is sure she feels just as well as everybody else. "It's a category five. The first one ever."

"Oh shit." Chuck mutters, so quietly that Tendo is sure he hadn't intended to actually say it aloud.

Striker's head cameras transmit the real time video feed, and Tendo can't help but stare. First the faint light of Striker's floodlights doesn't reveal more than a huge shadow, bulky and massive and it just doesn't seem to end. Then there are several tails, long and vicious looking things with blades at the end. The Kaiju approaches the edge of the Breach where Striker is standing and enters the beam of light, showing its massive, hammer shaped head with a rather impressive muzzle. Man, he's an ugly bastard. 

'Slattern' sounds like an appropriate codename, Tendo thinks still rather stunned, and types it into the system. It pops up next to the newest red dot only a fraction of a second later.

Pentecost and Herc fall into combat stance immediately, unsheathing the swords on both the right and the left arm. They're ready for whatever comes next, but Tendo isn't sure that's going to be enough. This Kaiju is just off the chart. He's too big for just two Jaegers. Not to mention the less than ideal conditions.

"Striker, we see him." Chuck reports, and the green spot that is Gipsy is slowly approaching Striker's position. "We're right behind you by about a hundred metres. We're going to come round your three o'clock, trying to flank him. Standard two team formation. Just keep him busy for two-"

Chuck never has the chance to finish his message. The cat V isn't going for Striker, it's going for Gipsy. It moves so fast from its position at the edge of the Breach that Tendo doesn't even have the time to report its movement to the Jaegers. It hits Gipsy from the right side, the massive jaws closing around the arm and ripping it clean off. Tendo hears Raleigh scream in pain over the comms, joined by Chuck's laboured breathing when he takes on as much of Raleigh's pain as he can. It shows clearly in the screen relaying any drift related information as well as in the pilot surveillance readouts. Before they have time to recover, Slattern is heading for Striker. 

"Striker, brace for impact!" Tendo shouts in the exact moment that the Jaeger is hit by the tails of the Kaiju. Striker is thrown back by the force of the impact and crashes with the back against a rock formation. Warnings go off on the both of the Jaeger's readouts.

_Oh my god, I know what he's doing! _Tendo thinks while he's frantically skimming the data about Striker's and Gipsy's status. This Kaiju isn't holding back like the other two. It knows it's stronger, more agile and much faster than the Jaegers. It's clearing the path for the other two, inflicting enough damage so that Scunner and Raiju can move in without being at risk to get used as the key to open the Breach. It's a nasty plan, but Tendo fears it might actually work. Striker and Gipsy don't look too good right now, and the fight has not even lasted two minutes.__

__"Gipsy, Scunner is heading for you!" Tendo sees the red dot moving and knows right away that his theory is correct. Now that Gipsy is weakened, the Kaiju makes its move. "He's coming from your right flank."_ _

__Neither of Gipsy's pilots has time to reply before the warnings on the Jaeger's status monitor go off. There's massive damage reported for the right leg. With every second that passes, more warnings appear. This is bad, this is really bad._ _

__Chuck and Raleigh deploy the second chain sword and suddenly no new warnings appear anymore. Instead there's Raleigh's angry voice shouting, "Let's grill this son of a bitch!"_ _

__The sudden rise in Gipsy's hull temperature combined with Raleigh's words give Tendo a pretty good idea what the boys are doing, even without checking the feed of their head camera. He can't pay it much attention, though, because the other red dot, Raiju, is approaching Striker while the cat V is still right in front of the fallen Jaeger, slowly but steadily closing the distance between them._ _

__"Striker, you have Raiju joining the party. Time to get back on your feet." Tendo checks the readings of the Jaeger again. They should be good to get up._ _

__"Roger that, LOCCENT." Herc's voice sounds strained, his breathing is laboured, and Tendo takes one quick look at the pilot readings and knows that he's taken some painful hits. But suddenly Raiju turns around, a sharp but fluid motion that tells Tendo exactly how agile the Kaiju is in water, and then he's heading back towards Chuck and Raleigh._ _

__"Gipsy, Raiju's coming up at your twelve o'clock! At full speed! Get out of the way!" Mako's voice is sharp and Tendo throws a quick glance at the feed from Gipsy's camera. He sees the luminescent lines of the Kaiju approaching fast, then the blue hue of the Kaiju's blood fill the screen. It takes him a moment to understand that Chuck and Raleigh are using the Kaiju's momentum against it, their sword slicing through skin and flesh, hitting bone, passing through. The Kaiju sinks to the ground behind them._ _

__Tendo can't help an awed whistle. Neatly cut in half. Not bad._ _

__"LOCCENT, we're still on." Herc is panting. "But the hull is compromised. Half of our systems are overloaded."_ _

__Pentecost doesn't sound any better when he adds, "And we have a problem. The release mechanism for the payload is jammed."_ _

__As soon as the words are out, Tendo feels an icy shiver run down his spine. This is it. Humanity has failed. If they can't get the bomb delivered, there will be no tomorrow for them._ _

__"We can still deliver it, though. Heading for the Breach now." Herc's voice sounds ragged and at the same time determined. "And that category V will be our key."_ _

__Tendo looks at Mako and finds her gaze directed at him. He can read in her eyes that she's thinking the same thing - they'll detonate the payload, with the tiny difference that the Jaeger will still be attached to it when they do._ _

__"Sir, maybe if you override the-" Mako doesn't get any further, because Slattern slams into Striker and pushes the Jaeger backwards. It connects hard with another rock formation which breaks under the impact, and then they roll over until the Kaiju manages to press Striker to the ocean floor. The head cameras give a perfect view of the massive talons that just a moment later crash into Striker's left side, setting off even more warnings on LOCCENT's status screen for the Jaeger. A few moments later Striker manages to ram the swords of both hands into the flesh right under the joints of Slattern's arms, and they push in deep. The effort it takes Pentecost and Herc to keep up the pressure flares up in the pilot surveillance monitors, but both pilots hold it, press deeper, pull up._ _

__The camera feed shows a stark increase in blue hue, and then the Kaiju falls backwards, its two front arms almost severed. It reels back and forth, obviously injured enough that it causes problems for the Kaiju. It retreats a few steps, then it opens its mouth wide and there's a sound frequency like a shock wave coming out, hitting everything it its way. There's not enough force to do any real damage, but it only takes Tendo a second to realise that that isn't its purpose._ _

__The time it took Gipsy to take care of Raiju was enough for Scunner to get back up from its unfavourable position on the ground, and now it's circling the crippled Jaeger, clearly waiting for the best moment to attack. As soon as the sound wave reaches the Scunner, it turns immediately and heads for Striker. Slattern called for backup, and now Striker is in real trouble._ _

__"Both Kaiju are converging on Striker! Fast!" Tendo reports when red dots on the holoscreen start moving. Oh god, this is a no-win situation. Striker is already damaged, it can never take on two Kaiju of that size. And Gipsy's leg slows the Jaeger down too much for it to ever reach Striker in time._ _

__"Hang on, Striker, we're coming for you!" It's Chuck, and there's a desperate note creeping into his voice. He must know that they won't get to Striker in time._ _

__"No! Gipsy, do not come for our aid! Do you copy?" Herc's voice is hard, but Tendo can hear that there's fear underneath it._ _

__"Hang on!" Chuck shouts back instead of an answer, and the green do that it Gipsy keeps moving very slowly towards Striker's position. The Kaiju are far ahead of them, and so much faster._ _

__"Fall back as fast as you can!" Pentecost orders, because there's no doubt that this is an order. His tone says it all._ _

__"We can still reach you! We're coming for you!" It's clear that Chuck is not willing to give up just yet, never mind how hopeless the situation is. Tendo bites his lip, there's nothing he can do but watch. It feels like torture._ _

__"No, Chuck, listen to me! You know exactly what you have to do! Gipsy is nuclear! Take her to the Breach!" Herc's voice sounds tinny over the comms, but the emotion behind his words are still clearly comprehensible. In response there's a moment of silence that almost breaks Tendo's heart. He doesn't even want to know how Chuck and Mako must be feeling right now. But the truth is that Gipsy is the better choice for the mission right now. They're closer to the Breach. They have a Kaiju carcass right in front of them. And she's nuclear, she can do the job just as well as Striker's payload._ _

__"I hear you, Dad." Chuck sounds firm and there's no hesitation in his words. He knows it, too. "Heading for the Breach now."_ _

__The green dot moves back, away from Striker and towards the Breach._ _

__"LOCCENT, we will clear a path. For the Lady." Pentecost's voice leaves no doubt that the decision has already been made._ _

__Tendo understands immediately. "They will detonate the payload."_ _

__Mako looks at him for a moment, and Tendo knows she has come to the same conclusion. She's composed, standing straight and her face neutral, but Tendo has a vague idea of how much she's hurting inside. Her hand is shivering slightly with the force she's using to clench it to a fist._ _

__"Mako! Listen! I'll always be here for you. You can always find me in the drift." Pentecost's voice is more emotional than Tendo has ever heard him. He's not holding anything back._ _

__Mako presses her lips together in a thin line, and for a moment Tendo can see all the fear, the pain and the sadness on her face. It's just a quick flicker, then she has regained her composure._ _

__Tendo turns back to his screens and finds that the two red dots, Scunner and Slattern, have almost reached Striker. The Jaeger's readings indicate that Pentecost and Herc have armed the payload, and the warning signal is ringing through LOCCENT, informing them that the payload is still attached to its carrier. Because this was never meant to happen, that's why they had a warning for it installed. Tendo has to grit his teeth to keep himself from reacting to it. It's out of the corner of his eye that he sees Mako reaching for the mic again._ _

__" _Sensei, aishite imasu!_ " Mako says and then there's a boom before the connection is cut. Tendo feels his insides freeze when he watches the blast spread over the screen, the sensors transmitting the immense scale of the explosion. There is no surviving that kind of blast._ _

__"Dad!" Chuck's shout is involuntary, Tendo can tell by the high-pitched, very uncharacteristic note of panic in his voice. He knows it has to be the moment Chuck feels the connection between himself and his dad being severed and it makes Tendo's skin crawl. He knows he can't even come close to imagining what that must feel like. The ghost drift between pilots is something only a fellow pilot can ever really understand, somebody who's been in a drift as well, who knows what it means to share their mind with another person. Considering that Chuck's drift partner is... _was_ also his father has to make it even worse._ _

__There is a moment of utter silence filling LOCCENT, it's stunned disbelief, it's shock. Tendo turns and sees Mako's face frozen in a painfully neutral expression, and she's unnaturally pale. One look in her eyes tells him that's she's dying on the inside right now. She just lost both of her fathers. She may not say it aloud, but Tendo has known her, Pentecost and Hansen senior well enough to know that she has considered Herc her second adoptive parent for years. Just as much as Chuck is her brother, and she knows she will most likely lose him too within the next half hour, along with Raleigh who very very quickly became her best friend. Still, she stands tall and doesn't show it, every inch Pentecost's daughter, strong to the very last moment. The mission isn't done yet._ _

__As soon as the blast fades, Tendo tries to get Gipsy on the line. "Gipsy, do you read?"_ _

__"LOCCENT, all our systems are critical. We're also leaking. Our right leg is crippled. But we're on our way. We have the Kaiju carcass." It's Raleigh this time, and that tells Tendo a lot about Chuck's current condition. "We're a walking nuclear reactor. We can destroy the Breach. Let's finish this."_ _

__"What are they doing?" Newton looks around with a confused expression on his face._ _

__Tendo watches how Mako turns towards him, her eyes dark with sorrow, but her voice is firm. "Finishing the mission."_ _

__"You'd better be right, Newt." Raleigh says and Tendo follows the green dot that is slowly approaching the edge of the Breach. "Because one way or another, we're getting this thing done."_ _

__Fifty metres. Forty. Thirty. They're almost there._ _

__Of course that's the moment when a red dot suddenly pops up on the holoscreen, a big red dot with the code name 'Slattern' written right next to it. Tendo hears Chuck growl over the comms. "You've got to be kidding me."_ _

__"On my count. Rear jets." Raleigh shouts and Gipsy keeps moving, the pace unbroken. "Three, two, one. _Now_!"_ _

__The Jaeger is suddenly propelled forwards, hitting the Kaiju with all the momentum it could gather, pushing it over the edge of the Breach. The Jaeger's status readouts report that the chain sword has been deployed, and then the altimeter announces that the Jaeger and the Kaiju are falling._ _

__Suddenly warnings go off all over the Jaeger's status monitor. The last remaining cameras show that the wicked tails are hitting Gipsy wherever they can reach, a last battle from the dying Kaiju. The attack hasn't lasted more than a few seconds so far, but the damage it is inflicting on the already heavily marred Jaeger is immense._ _

__"Chuck's oxygen is down! Half capacity!" Tendo quickly scans over the pilot's readings, gathers all the information he needs and rolls his chair over to the Jaeger's display._ _

__"Did you reroute it?" Mako follows him, her steps brisk._ _

__"I'm trying!" Tendo is typing furiously, but it doesn't work. Gipsy's systems are too damaged. Tendo considers it a miracle that he still has access to them at all._ _

__"Hold on, Chuck! I'm going to burn this son of a bitch!" Raleigh sounds angry, and just a second later the nuclear turbine is fired. The attack ceases almost immediately, and Tendo can only guess what the incredibly intense burn is doing to the Kaiju. Whatever it is, it works._ _

__Suddenly the energy reading spike, then the Jaeger and the Kaiju are gone. Tendo picks up their signature in the throat, even if it's only faint._ _

__"They're in!" Tendo can't keep the relief out of his voice. He wasn't so sure that the Breach would actually let them pass, that the plan Gottlieb and Newt had come up with would really work. There's a general sigh of relief echoing through LOCCENT. Obviously Tendo wasn't alone in his doubts._ _

__There's heavy breathing coming over the comms. It's Chuck, who's almost entirely out of oxygen and close to suffocating. Suddenly his levels get better while Raleigh's get worse._ _

__"He's giving him his oxygen!" Tendo says loud enough for the others to hear. At the same time, Raleigh's voice comes out of the speakers, sounding rough with the effort to speak while running out of breathable air._ _

__"It's all right now, Chuck. We did it." There's a pause and Raleigh takes a laboured breath before he continues. "I can finish this alone. Everything I have to do now is fall. Anyone can fall."_ _

__"Raleigh, your oxygen levels are critical now. You don't have much time. Start the core meltdown and get out of there. Do you hear me? Get out of there _now_." Tendo is still speaking when he sees on the Jaeger's readouts that Raleigh has triggered the ejection of Chuck's escape pod. It pops up on his tracking screen a moment later, heading up the throat towards the opening of the Breach at the bottom of the ocean. "One pod is ejected. No detonation yet."_ _

__"LOCCENT, do you still hear me? I'm initiating reactor override now." It's obvious that every word is an effort, and Raleigh sounds like he's about to keel over. Tendo knows he won't give up before finishing the mission, though, and when the computer signals the malfunction of the core meltdown, Tendo is absolutely certain that Raleigh will not survive. There's just no time left._ _

__"What's happening?" Newton looks lost, trying to make sense of the tens of different alarms and warnings going off all over LOCCENT._ _

__"Trigger's offline! He has to do it by hand!" Tendo shouts back while he's pushing his swivel chair with enough force to roll to the display showing the pilot vitals._ _

__"He's out of time! He has to self-destruct now!" There's a note of panic to Newton's voice, but Tendo ignores him. He has more pressing matters to deal with right now. The line is silent but for Raleigh's haggard breathing, and Tendo follows the readings that tell him that he disengaged from his harness. He must be making his way through the Conn-Pod right now, and Tendo doesn't think about the fact that Gipsy has retractable floor panelling that will leave the entire substructure exposed and make it a dangerous maze at the best of conditions._ _

__These aren't the best conditions._ _

__There's a shout, some groaning in effort and then Raleigh is finally reporting back. "Manual override initiated. Core meltdown in T-60!"_ _

__Tendo curses when the readings he's getting get weaker and weaker. "Raleigh, get out of there!"_ _

__There's no answer, not even static. Tendo has no idea if Raleigh even heard him. Gipsy's status monitors show that the connection between LOCCENT and the Jaeger is severed. Tendo tries everything he can think off, but he can't regain access. He knows that the sixty seconds haven't passed yet, Gipsy has not yet detonated, so that's not the reason for the missing connection. It has to be the throat, it's probably interfering with the signal._ _

__Just then the sensors they have installed all over the ocean floor come to life. On the holoscreen, the throat is slowly dissolving._ _

__"Direct hit! The Breach has collapsed!" Tendo shouts it, unable to believe what he's seeing. But it's there, the data flowing in. telling him the same thing all over again. The Breach has collapsed._ _

__He can't grasp it._ _

__"Send the choppers!" Mako orders with a voice that's loud enough to cut through the beginning of the cheering. Everybody jumps to action right away, reminded that their duty isn't over yet. They're still missing two pilots that can be saved._ _

__Maybe two._ _

__"We have one escape pod!" Tendo announces as soon as he's back in front of his screens. "It's Chuck. He's heading for the surface."_ _

__"Vital signs?" Mako is right behind him, checking the data for herself._ _

__"Strong and steady." Tendo replies and hears Mako breathe out with relief, but he feels that the tension in her body hasn't eased. He knows why - Raleigh's pod hasn't shown up on their tracking system at all. That means that either that the pod is damaged and doesn't send out a signal, or that Raleigh didn't eject - or that he didn't make it out of the throat before it collapsed._ _

__"Where's the second pod?" Tendo growls, leaning over the console and staring at the screen as if the intensity of his gaze makes any difference. One minute passes, two, three._ _

__Nothing happens._ _

**Author's Note:**

> It's a massive cliffhanger, I know that, but I had to do that in order to make the next fic work. I hope you can forgive me! ^_^ *bribes with cookies*


End file.
